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News & Features
From the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, 06.04.09 edition.
State may close local park
By J.P. Crumrine, News
Editor
For the second time in 15 months, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger is proposing to close state parks to help balance the
state’s budget. Again, Mt. San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness, a
local landmark and jewel, is threatened with closure. Mt. San Jacinto
State Park is one of 220 parks placed on the “caretaker” list.
“We close it!” said Roy Stearns, deputy director of communications for
the California Parks and Recreation (CPR) Department, explaining
“caretaker.”
“We do minimal oversight and maintenance,” he added. “A team of
maintenance people and security people will circulate about once a week
to check each park.”
The governor’s recommendation is not yet the final decision. The state
Legislature must concur. This year the Legislature’s options and
flexibility are much more limited than in the spring of 2008.
According to Stearns, no actions will be taken before Labor Day. The
primary reason is the need to know the Legislature’s final disposition.
Just as important, the CPR acknowledges that many towns such as
Idyllwild and their local businesses depend upon the parks being open
to attract tourists. In addition, CPR collects the vast majority of its
fees between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It wants to maximize the fee
collections this season.
“For every dollar the state parks received from the General Fund, more
than $2.35 is generated in revenues from taxes on food and gasoline,”
said Mt. San Jacinto Superintendent Garrett Aitchison.
The governor proposed to reduce the state parks’ budget $70 million
this year. With closed units, a loss of $40 million in fees is
possible. Combined, the $110 million reduction will necessitate firing
700 people, Stearns said.
In 2010, the remaining $73 million and $30 million of fees will be
lost, resulting in the loss of 500 more staff. In two years, the
department will go from 2,400 employees to about 1,200, according to
Stearns. Stearns stressed that the staff reductions will be spread
across the department’s full spectrum.
The tram from Palm Springs to the top of Mt. San Jacinto will not be
closed. A private contractor operates the tram. Many of the state park
areas at the top, however, will be closed to the public.
“I’m upset. Everything the state parks stand for — that’s me,”
Aitchison said with pride. “This is not going to solve a $15 to $16
billion gap and it’s not just locking the gates either. What will it do
to communities like Idyllwild where there is lost revenue because
campers no longer buy dinners or groceries?”
Besides Mt. San Jacinto State Park, several other park and recreation
areas in the Inland Empire District and nearby also will be closed.
Within this district, California Citrus State Historic Park in
Riverside, Chino Hills State Park, San Timoteo Canyon near Redlands and
Wildwood Canyon in Yucaipa will shut their doors.
In the adjacent Colorado Desert District, the Anza-Borrego Desert State
Park, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Indio Hill Palms and Palomar Mountain
State Park are tentatively on the “caretaker” list, too.
Beaches such as Carlsbad and Torrey Pines will not be spared
either.
The California State Parks Foundation can provide information on what
citizens can try to do about the park closures (www.calparks.org).
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